Just Another Sidekick
by Brittathebest
Summary: This is part 4 and follows up part 1, "Just Another Slayer", part 2, "Just Another Watcher", and part 3, "Just Another Witch". This multi-part story takes place many years after BTVS and ATS and several years after season 10 of the comics. This story references events in all of these series. All of this is the property of Joss Whedon and his associates.


* * *

This is part 4 of the "Just Another Buffy Fanfiction" series and follows up part 1, "Just Another Slayer", part 2, "Just Another Watcher", and part 3, "Just Another Witch".

This multi-part story takes place many years after BTVS and ATS and several years after season 10 of the comics. This story references events in all of these series.

All of this is the property of Joss Whedon and his associates.

* * *

"You did what?" Dawn was staring at him. He couldn't handle it. "I'm sorry. You did what?"

"…Uh…" This might be the first time Spike had ever been speechless in his entire life, and for that matter, his unlife.

"Sweetie, hold on." Xander was next to her, thankfully. "He just explained that Buffy wanted to go."

Spike wiped his eyes. He had just gotten off the plane in Cape Town and was sitting in an open-air coffee bar opposite Xander and Dawn. Jet lag was hell on his constitution, especially since regaining his mortality on his last visit to this continent. Plus, what he was telling Xander and Dawn was something he had dreaded.

He paused, took a drag off his smoke and then stared straight into her eyes. They were hard to face. "Dawn, you have to believe me when I tell you that was the hardest thing I've ever done." His voice broke, and he had to look away. Her anger was more than he could take. He was getting used to the idea that Buffy was never coming back and that he had had a part to play in it.

Xander put one hand on Dawn's and spoke quietly to her. "It sounds like this was the best of the solutions he had. Remember the Hellmouth? None of us hardly ever got to do the noble thing there." Xander looked back at Spike. "Right? It was either that or leave her to suffer with all those vampires, right? Forever? I mean, they were probably thirsty to exact some sort of revenge against our beloved Buff. Isn't that what every vampire wants, to drink from the slayer?"

"…Yeah." Spike admitted. There was more to the story, and they needed to know it. But, the guilt was a lot for him. He had drank from Buffy, a thing he had long ago stopped wanting –- it was a terrible feeling. He felt like he had backslid, and at the same time, he loved her so much. He didn't want her to be tied to the stake anymore. The guilt - there was a part of him that gave up in that moment. The decision to sink his fangs into Buffy led to drinking from the captive slayers and wicca. He had put off drinking from Buffy, but he knew he would eventually. He needed to steel himself. Girl after girl had been drained of their blood in his hands. He knew he would have to become a vampire in every way in order to do what he must. For Buffy.

It took all night to explain this to Dawn and Xander. They were silent. They walked around their neighborhood and along the beach. When the sun set, they climbed the stairs of their apartment building, sat on the balcony, and watched the sky turn vermillion.

They had gotten used to Spike becoming human on his last visit, but now, this news … it was a lot to take in.

At some point, after the moon rose, Xander opened a bottle of wine, and they passed it between them in silence.

"And now, Willow?" Xander said after hours of staring into the night sky.

"You don't need to tell me. I know it's a royal fuck-up. I wish …" Spike paused. "I wish I knew how I could have dealt with all of it. In the moment, it all seemed like the best of a bunch of terrible options."

Dawn stood up, tears in her eyes. "You swear that this was something Buffy asked for? It wasn't something Drusilla made her do?"

Spike's reply was quiet. "No. Buffy wanted this. And she needed a vampire to release her soul." He thought back to the cave and Drusilla urging him on. "Dru didn't use her powers. She wanted me back, and she wanted me to want it."

Xander leaned back in his chair, in thought, and placed one hand over his eyepatch to rub it. In moments like this, his missing eye itched.

"Ok, Spike." Dawn's voice was resigned as she opened the patio door to go in. It had been a long night, and she was tired. "If there was any way we could have brought her back, you know I'd want to know."

Xander put a hand on her arm. "No, Dawn, she was gone before Spike found her. He just gave her peace."

"...It's just that she was the only family I had left." Dawn said.

Spike looked down at the pile of cigarette butts at his feet.

"You still have me." Xander told her.

"I know. And I know that you have to go with Spike and bring Willow back. But, you have to come back to me." Her eyes were fixed on a distant point.

Xander's voice was barely a whisper. "Always, Dawn."

* * *

The night passed, and the two men sat side-by-side watching the moon travel across the sky. As the sky began to lighten, Xander turned to Spike.

"Ok. I'm ready."

"Right." Spike and Xander had become friends in San Francisco, hard as it was to believe. Something had changed in the years Spike spent away from the Scoobies, and Xander recognized it. He was still a vampire, but Xander had grown to respect him. Yet, complete trust had not been an option as long as he had a demon in him. Now he was sitting on Xander's balcony, ensouled and humanized, and he needed Xander's help.

Xander wasn't eager to say yes. With Willow, Xander knew what he had ahead of him, and it took all night for him to remember how brave he could be at times.

"So, what do we do?"

"We go to sleep."

"I'm sorry –" Xander asked. "Aren't you human now? When did you become a wicca, or er, uh, a witch? A manwitch?"

"Relax, mate," Spike said. "I have a feeling that Willow left a trail of bread crumbs. I hope so, anyway."

"It's important for you to recognize your limits, you know," Xander told him, "now that you're human. You're in the club with me and Dawn. You know- the mortals. It's ok that you're human now."

Spike was alarmed. It looked like Xander was coming in for a hug. "Xander…"

"Yeah, I heard about your troubles on the island, you know, with the swimming. You can do stuff to help, even if you're just plain Jane like us."

"Xander!" Spike sighed. "I know. Now, will you relax and fall asleep? We got shit to do, and I don't have time for one of your patented pep talks."

"Wait. I have questions. What about Giles? Shouldn't he be guiding us there?"

"I told you. Giles is no use there."

"Oh yeah. You're right." Xander missed the look of shock on Spike's face. He continued. "Giles got us into this. He always needs to know the whys and wherehows. He's the brain of our operation, but he's not the smartest."

"He should have left well-enough alone." Spike added. "He just had to know where the vampires went."

"Yeah, and why do we need vampires, anyway?" Xander asked. "There must be some fictional universe where they don't exist."

"Ok, enough now." Spike was becoming impatient with Xander. "Enough with the meta. Let's get on with it."

"Fine." Xander closed his eyes and grabbed Spike's hand. "Is this what we do?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Willow didn't leave me one of her handy diagrams."

"Wow, Spike, even your hand is well-muscled."

Spike opened one eye and glared at him.

"What? I've always had the confidence in my sexuality to admire other men."

"Pipe down, Harris." Spike leaned further into his chair, trying to get comfortable.

They must have fallen asleep at the same time, because suddenly, they found themselves in an underground tunnel.

"Wow, Spike."

"I told you I'd get us here." Spike's eyes scanned the walls looking for something familiar, like shadows.

Xander spun around. "Where's Willow?"

Spike was wondering the same thing as he started down the tunnel, Xander at his heels.

"Is this where Gollum leaps out at us and tries to kill us with riddles?" Xander grinned.

"Uh—" Spike's answer was cut short by an enormous two-headed dog that now had him pinned to the ground.

"Holy Moses Malone!" Xander skipped back a few paces. His flight was arrested by the sight of the beast alternating between sloppily kissing Spike and mauling him. "Um, Spike, when did you get a dog?"

"It's not my dog." Spike was trying to push Cerberus away, but it was hard to get a grip on the dog with so much slobber. When he, at last, stood up, and had the dog attentively minding him, he explained sheepishly, "It's my spirit animal."

"My god, Spike," Xander laughed. "I don't even know you anymore."

Between clenched teeth, Spike replied, "It's supposed to help me get control of the demon. That's Cujo, the ugly head. And the other one, I don't know, Willow thought it was a good idea. But, it doesn't have a name. Don't ask me."

"Ok, Spike," Xander put his hands up in surrender while smiling.

Spike stormed off, dog and Xander following close behind.

"But, when can I have a kitty?" Xander's eyes were big and glossy while he taunted the former vampire.

"Your girlfriend is a Summers woman." Spike snapped. "Isn't that enough of a reason for you to keep control down here?"

That shut Xander up for a while.

* * *

Hours later, after bumbling through the darkness and sticking their four heads into cave after cave, the trio was getting impatient.

"Willow made this look so easy," Spike huffed.

"Yeah, she always does," Xander admitted.

"When did she get so powerful?"

"I don't know, Spike." Xander was contrite. "I should have been paying attention. We were dealing with some stuff, and … I don't know."

Finally, they found the cave. The three stared at the shadows on the wall. Vampires. Bonfire. A figure in the middle of the fire. And one figure stood alone commanding the vampires.

"God, I'm tired of this." Spike said.

"What is this?" Xander's head was spinning.

Spike explained this was a cave Giles made as a gateway to the vampire cave. This time, though, there was no door out of there. When Giles brought him here, there were no shadows. They just walked out of here to the vampire cave. _Guess Giles is not one for introspection._

With Willow, there were shadows. Somehow, Willow was able to control them.

"Don't ask me how. She wouldn't tell me," Spike explained. "She made me see some stuff before we got to leave."

"What kind of stuff?" Xander wagged his eyebrows. "Sexy stuff?"

"Why, Xander? Why would Willow –" Spike stopped and reminded himself that he was talking to Xander. "Look, she did this glowy and shadowy thing, but, I don't know how to do that."

Cerberus was sitting on Spike's foot when he suddenly got the urge to chase the shadows on the wall.

"Wow, Spike, your spirit animal is really dumb." Xander watched the dog romp around the cave. "Well, no one said you were the brain trust of the Scoobies."

"Wait, Harris."

The dog snapped playfully at the shadows until a new scene emerged.

"What is going on?"

Spike had to be honest. "I don't know."

Xander stepped closer to the walls. For once, Xander had nothing to say. The images were so familiar. _I know what this is._

Cerberus knocked Xander back a pace as he swept past him, snapping at the scurrying shadows. He finally had a grip on a shadow and shook it vigorously between his Cujo jaws. Scooby, for his part, snapped at thin air, oblivious. Cujo attempted to lay down with the shadowy chew toy between his forefeet to get a good grip, but the shadow slipped out of his jaws and sprung at Xander.

When the shadow stopped short of Xander, it materialized into a three-dimensional person.

"Xander." The woman said. It was Cordelia.

Xander glanced at Spike. "Is it supposed to do that?"

"Nope. Must be your effect on this place."

"Xander!" Cordelia stomped her foot to get his attention. She was wearing a cheerleader's costume.

"I know what this is." Xander looked at Cordelia. "This is high school."

"Yeah, mate. Looks like you have to confront your past, too." Spike stared at the woman. "I guess this what we have to do here. You know, a little psychoanalysis." Spike made a rude gesture with his fist shaking in the air.

Other shadows danced around the walls. Xander was agog at the scenes from his life. "Yeah, I'm getting the picture."

Then Xander caught the gist of the gesture. "Ug, Spike. You had to do that here? In front of Willow? You really need a girlfriend."

Spike considered how he was going to maim Xander without going full vampire.

As Cordelia stamped her foot again, Cujo wrestled another shadow from the wall and released it at Xander. This one stood quietly in front of Xander, her arms folded.

It was Anya.

Still, Xander had nothing to say.

The two figures shifted into different forms. And now the cave was a scene from the prom. Cordelia approached Xander in a silvery gray dress. Anya stood at his side.

Xander looked at Cordelia and suddenly remembered his part. "It looks good on you."

"Well, duh!" Cordelia said.

Cordelia and Anya were frozen in time, as if waiting for a prompt from Xander to continue the scene.

Xander explained it to Spike, "I bought that dress for her when her family ran out of money. She deserved it. For what I put her through. For what I knew she was capable of."

"Yeah, she clocked me but good at Wolfram and Hart." Spike rubbed his jaw, remembering.

"She must have been something." Xander's eyes were soft, admiring her moment of triumph. "When I knew her, it was just the beginning."

"And Anya?" Spike looked at the frozen woman at Xander's side in an evening gown.

Xander turned to him. His voice was quiet. "I don't want to talk about her with you, Spike."

The scene shifted and Cordelia disappeared. They were outside the Magic Box, and Xander stood between Spike and Anya with an axe in one hand and a stake in the other.

"I don't want to do this again." Spike said.

"This isn't your memory, Spike." Xander looked into Anya's eyes softly. "It's mine."

Xander activated the scene with one phrase: "So you just bang the first body you fi— Wait. I'm not doing this." Xander turned away.

Anya took a step toward him and followed his eyes with hers.

Xander turned back to her. "I'm sorry, Anya. I know that you were hurting, and that Spike understood what it's like to be a demon in love with a human. It must have been confusing. I forgive you."

Anya's expression turned soft. "I… Wait. You don't get to forgive me. You walked out on me, Xander!" She was furious.

The scene froze.

"Guess I wasn't getting out of that no matter what I did." Xander frowned.

"Your love life sucks, Xander." Spike turned away.

"Well, you would know. About both those things." Xander snarked. "You know, sucking and love."

"Yeah, I get it. Listen. I know what this place is. Willow told me, but it took me until now to remember. Back in my Cambridge days, I read about Plato's Cave."

"You went to Cambridge?" Xander turned to Spike in shock. Behind Xander, Cordelia's form stood mutely alongside Anya's.

"Yeah, I was human once before, you know." Spike was getting impatient again. "Here's the thing. These shadows are about perception. Plato talked about a cave where shadows are not reality. Senses, emotions - things you touch, feel, smell, and see are not reality. Reality is filtered through the senses on the way to perception. The shadow isn't real. The thing casting the shadow is real."

Xander looked confused. "I dunno, Spike. My emotions are real."

To further prove the point, Cordelia and Anya stepped around Xander and simultaneously slugged Spike in the jaw.

From the ground, Spike rubbed his jaw again. "I have to agree with you, there, Harris," he said.

Xander was smug. "Enough with the metaphors. Let's get to Willow."

Cordelia and Anya leaned over Spike, ready to throw another punch. Spike rose to his feet and sidestepped them.

"Look, there's a door now." Xander pointed behind Spike.

Spike and Cerberus followed Xander down the tunnel.

"It's an allegory. Not a metaphor." Spike grumbled.

"Whatever."

"I mean, the American education system…."

Cordelia and Anya watched the bickering pair and the dog fade in the distance. When their forms vanished into the darkness, the two women looked at one another, shrugged and disappeared.

* * *

"…So, tell me again why I had to visit some of the most painful moments of my very flawed love life? Don't get me wrong. I'm very happy that we didn't revisit my various trysts with dark slayers and demons. Even Drusilla took a shine to me in one dark moment of magical insanity."

Spike shot him a side eye, but Xander was cut short by the sudden appearance of the vampire cave.

Xander's eyes took in the scene. A vast bonfire encircled Drusilla who danced alone in the center. Willow's attention was on the hundreds of vampires scurrying around the walls like cockroaches avoiding the light.

Spike noted her progress from the millions that were climbing the walls when he had left. He also noted that her whispery capes hung ragged and limp from her shoulders.

Xander's voice was a whisper. "Oh, Willow." He took in her appearance. Her hair was black. Unlike last time he had seen this, the black veins that had sprouted across her face were now crawling down her neck and arms. She paused. He saw her take a breath and start again, her fingers outstretched.

Spike noticed the vampires no longer dusted with an explosion. Now it was more like a clod of dust slowly crumbling in your hand. Willow was clearly exhausted.

Xander didn't know what to say.

From within the fire, Drusilla still had energy to burn. She took a step toward the fire, but with a blast from Willow, she was shunted back to the center. She keened in pain.

Willow crumpled to one knee. Controlling Drusilla was taking all she had.

Spike took a step closer, leaving Cerberus behind. "Willow?"

Her eyes were unfocused and pointed to the ground as she gathered herself to stand again. She either hadn't noticed Xander and Spike or didn't want to.

Spike could see Drusilla was in pain. The edges of her hair were crumbling to dust. Spike approached the witch. "Willow, maybe you should stop for a mo'."

Willow glanced at Spike. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, and her voice was low and hoarse. "No. I have a more to do. Then I can find the slayers and wicca," she said between gasps of breath.

Spike glanced around the cave for the wicca he had to leave behind. They were still against the wall. It was clear their exhaustion had grown to terror at witnessing Willow's work. He glanced at Drusilla. She was on her back crying out in pain. _How long had Willow been torturing her?_

"Willow," he began carefully. "Why haven't you just dusted Drusilla?"

"Because you asked me not to. And because she deserves what I'm doing to her." Willow was in pain and was clearly taking it out on the vampire.

"They all do, Willow." Spike glanced around the cave to see the remaining vampires cowering in a corner. "I do, too."

Willow gathered herself to stand again, but Spike stopped her with one hand on her shoulder. "Wait." Cujo growled in the distance.

They were swept from the cave. Before them stood a little girl at a fair. It was sunny, and the flags and ribbons were bright and cheerful. Barkers shouted their wares as the girl skipped past them, clutching a doll. She was a pretty girl with big blue eyes and dark curly hair. From the clothing, it appeared to Spike that they had landed in mid-19th Century England.

He still had a hand on Willow's shoulder. He removed it to offer a hand up to the witch. Willow swallowed gratefully as she arose. "You figured it out, Spike. I told you that you would need to do this on your own."

Spike said, "Look, I don't really know how I did this. But I needed you to see something. You know how I keep saying that magic has consequences?"

Willow was perplexed.

"I've only said it a million times, Red." Spike was petulant.

She shrugged.

"Well, this is why." He gestured to the scene.

They watched the girl. Skipping along the colorful booths, she stopped short at a fortune teller's tent. Her head turned to the side, in curiosity, drawn to the dark interior of the tent.

"Come inside, child." A woman from within beckoned.

The girl approached the woman in the shawl. The woman reminded the girl of her grandmother, sweet and smiling. "Do you know my mummy? I've been looking for her for so long."

The woman paused before replying. "I think I do." She smiled at the girl. "You look so much like your mummy, Drusilla."

"Someday, I shall be just like her." The girl was definitive in her pronouncement, and perplexed at the woman she'd never met before. "What's your name?"

"Mine's Edith. And I wouldn't be so sure, child." The woman closed her eyes and smiled. "The way I see it, you have two paths laid out before you and, of course, many branches of possibilities. But, there are two main paths you have to choose from."

The girl was curious. "Oh?"

"One will be like your mother's life. A life filled with children and life. But, like your mummy's, it will be filled with sadness."

The girl thought back to the morning when she and her sisters had watched their father sail away. Her older sisters said that he would be gone a long time. The morning skies had been dark and swirly, and the wind had whipped her hair from her face as she watched the tall ship fade into the horizon. Her mummy had spent the day sobbing in bed while she and her sisters played in front of the stove with their dollies. They had been hungry, but her mummy didn't seem to notice.

"The other will be filled with love. So much love, and perhaps too much love. Love will never leave you alone." The woman shuddered. "An angel will take care of you."

The girl smiled. "I want an angel to love me."

"No, child. Not all angels can love." The woman admonished the little girl.

The girl was bewildered and clutched her doll tight.

"You'll have so much love, though; it will refuse to leave you." The woman told the child. "But, with this path, comes a terrible power."

The girl cocked her head to the side in thought. "I think that I will choose love."

"You have chosen," the woman said, placing her hand on the girl's, "and so it is."

The scene faded to black.

Spike turned to Willow. Willow spoke slowly, "Drusilla chose wisely. I know that pain can happen regardless of the path you choose. She wanted a full life. There are risks any way you turn. I chose, too. I am paying the price, and so will Drusilla."

The scene brightened again. They were back in the cave.

"I think you should spare Dru." Spike was contemplative. "And I think you should spare yourself."

Willow turned to look at the vampire. And with a flash of hand, within the ring of fire, Drusilla thrashed in pain. From a distance, Spike and Willow could hear her cackle.

"Crow all you want, deary, I'll always be somewhere…"

Spike cringed in horror at the madness in Drusilla's voice.

Then he had a thought. _Maybe Drusilla can help. Besides Willow, she seems to be the only one here who still has some magic._

Spike watched the vampire writhe around the ground, laughing maniacally. Then suddenly, poof, she was gone. A cloud of dust was all that remained.

He turned to Willow. _Ok, plan B._

Willow was smiling sinisterly to herself as she picked herself off the ground. Dusting Drusilla had taken a lot of effort.

"Willow?" Xander was approaching. After his initial shock, he was beginning to gather his thoughts.

Willow turned to him. She now felt even more tired.

Spike walked away. It was Harris' turn, now. _Better I look after the wicca._

As he walked away, he thought about the pain and the guilt that Drusilla would surely be experiencing now that she had been reunited with her soul.

Xander started again, "Willow?"

As Willow stood, she felt a surge of power. _It must be Drusilla's power._

Xander hadn't stopped trying to reach her. "Willow, why are you doing this?" Willow's back was to him.

"You know why, Xander." She muttered to him, her attention back on the remaining vampires. "I can't leave this place until they're gone."

"You want to leave this place to find the missing slayers and the other wicca?"

"Yeah, do you see another door out of here? Because I have been here for what feels like years and I sure as heck haven't."

"Maybe you can't see it because you've been in the dark too long." Xander reasoned with her.

"Or maybe I can't get any further because I am not dead." Willow let the statement hang in the air.

"Uh, the undead formerly known as Blondie Bear over there can't seem to get anywhere, either, Will."

Xander glanced at Spike. "And for god's sake, Spike what are you doing over there?"

"Trying to give a shit about the wicca." Spike was standing over the women. "No one seems to be doing much of this, and I'm trying to figure out a way to get them out of here."

"Ok, well, just so you don't get all fangy."

Cujo and Scooby both growled at Xander from Spike's side.

Spike's voice was low. "No, I'm done with that."

Willow glanced at Xander as she continued to dust the vampires wearily. Her tone softened. "Look, Xander. I admit it. I got lost in the magic for a while. But, I remember what I'm supposed to do."

"You need to rest." Xander pleaded with her.

"For what?" Willow's voice rose as she turned to Xander and shot a shadow at him. "For this?"

The pair now stood on a dusty plain watching a trio of tribal men pouring light and dark bolts of magic into a girl curled into fetal position on the ground.

"Recognize these guys, Xander?" Willow shouted. "These are the original watchers. This is what we are now. The council blew up, and now we are it. The original watchers made slayers out of girls because they were expendable. And now we're treating the girls like they're expendable. Both the slayers and the wicca."

"No, Willow." Xander's eyes were horrified at watching the men pour the demon into the girl.

"Like the old watchers, we've been falling into that trap. The one where we get a little obsessed? Because it's so distracting fighting the big bad?" Her tone was sarcastic.

Her voice was soft again as she continued. "I can't leave them. Can you?"

"No, Willow." Xander continued to watch the girl struggle.

"They're not expendable." Willow whispered.

Xander turned to her. "Neither are you."

Willow stopped. The scene dimmed, and they were in the darkness.

"I think I know why I had to revisit the Xander wacky funhouse tunnel of love," he said. Xander took her hand and smiled. "Love is my gift."

The scene shifted. They were in Willow's bedroom. This time, instead of watching the scene, they were in the scene. Xander was adjusting his tux. Willow came out from behind the screen in a long black velvet dress.

The two stared at each other. They turned away and smiled.

"I remember this." Willow was the first to break the silence.

"This is when I realized how beautiful, no, wait. It's more than that." Xander stammered.

He began again. "I knew you my whole life. And in this moment I realized what you are. You were with Oz, and you were becoming a force of magic. And in this moment, I realized what an idiot I was. I hadn't realized how much power and love you had in you until then."

Willow could only look at him through her eyelashes. It was too much.

The scene dimmed and then brightened.

They were in the hospital. Xander layed in bed, a bandage over one eye. Willow sat beside him, a deck of cards in her hands.

"Remember when I couldn't see anymore?" Xander looked straight into her eyes. "I didn't want to give into my feelings."

Willow looked down, wiping a tear away.

When she turned back, Xander continued. "But you took them on. You stayed with me and played cards. Willow, love is your gift, too."

The scene faded, and they stood in the darkness.

Willow's shoulders turned inward as she covered her face with her hands.

"Willow, don't you see? My love for you goes beyond 'groinal' feelings, or whatever it was we were doing back at Homecoming. I've known you forever. Now you have to come back to me."

The scene brightened again.

They watched the last days of Sunnydale and the moment when Willow's hair turned white as she placed her hands on the scythe.

"You shared the gift of slayerhood. Power is meant to be shared. That is love. You are so much more than your power," Xander said. "You are love."

Willow watched the scene in thought.

"No."

Xander turned to her.

"Xander, you are the heart. You need to go back and protect it all. I am supposed to be the spirit. It's for me to find the souls of the slayers and the wicca."

The scene dimmed again as they returned to the cave of vampires.

Willow looked down to see Xander at her feet. She glanced at Spike, leaning against the wall staring off into space. The wicca sat in a similar state beside him.

As Willow turned back to the remaining vampires and wearily pushed her power through her fingers to finish them, Spike slowly shook his head.

As he watched Willow slide to the ground in exhaustion at her efforts, he thought, _who else can help us?_

Spike thought through the problem. _Willow won't leave until she finds the lost girls' souls. But, she can't until the vampires are gone. Again. And she's going to run herself into the ground before that happens. Xander won't leave without her. Giles can't help her. Who else is there?_

A nagging idea clawed at his brain as he turned to the wicca.

"I'll be back for you lot. I just don't know how to take you with me right now."

 _God, this is a terrible idea. But who else has dealt with souls?_

It was desperation, plain and simple. Spike could see no other way.

* * *

This will be followed up with part 5.


End file.
